SACRAMENTO – Today, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Senate Bill 10, the California Bail Reform Act.
The following statement can be jointly attributed to the three Executive Directors of the California ACLU affiliates: Abdi Soltani (Northern California), Hector Villagra (Southern California), and Norma Chávez Peterson (San Diego & Imperial Counties):
"We are disappointed to see Senate Bill 10 signed into law. SB 10 is not the model for pretrial justice and racial equity that California should strive for. It cannot guarantee a substantial reduction in the number of Californians detained while awaiting trial, nor does it sufficiently address racial bias in pretrial decision making. Indeed, key provisions of the new law create significant new risks and problems.
"We call on lawmakers to be vigilant to ensure racial justice and fairness in our pretrial system. A first step is following through on Senator Hertzberg’s commitment to address racial bias in risk assessment tools with new legislation. The implementation of this bill — and subsequent legislation in this area — must ensure a significant reduction in incarceration and also provide due process and promote racial justice. We will work with lawmakers and our community partners to achieve that goal."
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